The Canyon's Edge

This summary includes the following poems: “Wonder,” “Stay,” “Colors,” “Steps,” “Loss,” “Endless Walls,” “Deadly,” “Away,” “Another Lie,” “Panic,” “Coping,” “Grounding,” “Keep Moving,” “Needles,” “Digging,” “Before and After,” “A Drink,” “Carried Away,” “Patterns,” “Searching,” “Drying,” “Still,” “Protection,” “One Calorie,” “Dimming,” “Anxiety,” “Free Solo,” “Terrified,” “No One,” “You Can,” “Cave,” “Anger,” “Rage,” “Screaming,” “Gone,” “Feeling,” and “Numb.”

Nora is glad to see the light of dawn and thinks her wall kept the Beast away. She debates hiking back to the Jeep or looking for the road but knows that Dad wouldn’t abandon her, and she won’t leave him. She hikes down the canyon, certain that Dad is walking toward her. Nora drinks from puddles left in indentations in rocks. She’s crushed when she discovers that the heart-shaped rock Dad gave her is missing but forges ahead. By noon, water supplies are drying up and the sun is hot. A deadly Mojave rattlesnake blocks her path. While waiting for the snake to move, Nora falls asleep. She hears Mary tell her to be honest and identify the Beast, but Nora continues to lie and say that he’s not real. She dreams about the shooting again, hearing “booms” and knowing the Beast is coming.